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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2023-53544: cpufreq: davinci: Fix clk use after free

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 31/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.16% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 5d8f384a9b4fc50f6a18405f1c08e5a87a77b5b3, 66b3bbe6fbd8dd410868e5b53ac3944a934b9310, a5f024d0e6f91e05c816ad4ee8837173369dd5cb.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 5d8f384a9b4fc50f6a18405f1c08e5a87a77b5b3, 66b3bbe6fbd8dd410868e5b53ac3944a934b9310, a5f024d0e6f91e05c816ad4ee8837173369dd5cb or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpufreq: davinci: Fix clk use after free The remove function first frees the clks and only then calls cpufreq_unregister_driver(). If one of the cpufreq callbacks is called just before cpufreq_unregister_driver() is run, the freed clks might be used.

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Oct 4, 2025
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 5th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

31

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2023-53544

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • linux linux kernel2.6.33 and later · before 4.14.308
  • linux linux kernel4.15 and later · before 6.1.16
  • linux linux kernel6.2 and later · before 6.2.3

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 2.6.33affected
    • 6601b8030de3e9c29930684eeac15302a59f991a and later · before 66b3bbe6fbd8dd410868e5b53ac3944a934b9310affected · git
    • 6601b8030de3e9c29930684eeac15302a59f991a and later · before a5f024d0e6f91e05c816ad4ee8837173369dd5cbaffected · git
    • 6601b8030de3e9c29930684eeac15302a59f991a and later · before ab05ae4ab831f64bbc427592c86f599ed9c4324faffected · git
    • 6601b8030de3e9c29930684eeac15302a59f991a and later · before 5d8f384a9b4fc50f6a18405f1c08e5a87a77b5b3affected · git
    • before 2.6.33not affected · semver
    • 4.14.308 and later · up to and including 4.14.*not affected · semver
    • 6.1.16 and later · up to and including 6.1.*not affected · semver
    • 6.2.3 and later · up to and including 6.2.*not affected · semver
    • 6.3 and laternot affected · original_commit_for_fix

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12linuxbefore 6.1.20-16.1.20-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-53542Oct 4, 2025 · ARM: dts: exynos: Use Exynos5420 compatible for the MIPI video phy
    22Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-53543Oct 4, 2025 · vdpa: Add max vqp attr to vdpa_nl_policy for nlattr length check
    31Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-53545Oct 4, 2025 · drm/amdgpu: unmap and remove csa_va properly
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux5d8f384a9b4fc50f6a18405f1c08e5a87a77b5b3Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux66b3bbe6fbd8dd410868e5b53ac3944a934b9310Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxa5f024d0e6f91e05c816ad4ee8837173369dd5cbVendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxab05ae4ab831f64bbc427592c86f599ed9c4324fVendor (CNA)
debian:linux6.1.20-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-416 · Use After Free

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

After a memory region is freed, another reference pointing to it is still used. By then, the same region may have been allocated for different data.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-416 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

c
free(dev->buf);/* ... another thread is still running ... */process(dev->buf);

Fixed

c
lock(&dev->lock);free(dev->buf);dev->buf = NULL;unlock(&dev->lock);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (3 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records